Lake Lanier Fishing Reports – April 2021

Lanier: Level: 0.7 feet above full. Temp: High 50s to low 60s. Clarity: Water color is all over the place. The upper river arms are extremely stained (think peanut butter), the backs of the creeks are muddy, and the main lake even has some stain as the creeks are pumping.

Bass: Guide and tournament angler Ryan Coleman reports, “Excellent.  The spring pollen is falling and may be the worst I have ever seen at this early of a date. A lot of the lake is yellow, but fishing remains good with fish in a couple different stages. There are a good many fish up ready to spawn. I just don’t think they made it with the cooler-than-normal water temps this full moon. There are some up there doing their thing, but April will be the big spawning month for our spotted and largemouth bass. Fish are staged up on small clay points and are just sitting there feeding. Small worms rigged on light-weight jig heads are perfect right now, as is a jerkbait worked across the points. Look for some fish on boat docks when the sun is out. Fish with worms and jigs as they move to the bank to spawn. As April rolls in, the spinnerbait bite will catch fire. Work a 3/4-oz. Mini-Me spinnerbait with white painted blades on cloudy days and silver blades on sunny days across windy points and in pockets as the bait gets pushed in there. This pattern along with worms rigged on jig heads will be your mainstay for April as the fish move up to spawn. Near the end of the month, look for the topwater bite to get going as the fish move off the beds.”

Stripers: Capt. Clay Cunningham reports, “April is looking good here on Lanier. The stripers will move up both rivers, spawn and work their way back down to the main lake. Since the stripers will be on the move, they will need to eat. The result is some great catching on Lanier. The key pattern will be to pull the banks and points with freelines and boards mostly on the north end of the lake. Be sure to use your electronics to spot the fish in these areas. On the Humminbird Side Imaging, you can see the fish on each side of the boat. In the past five years, the electronics have progressed immensely. The best setup is a Shakespeare striper rod paired with a Penn Fathom II Linecounter reel. Spool the Penn Fathom II  Linecounter with 15-lb. Trilene Big Game line. On the end of the line, you will need a fluorocarbon leader. Tie on a Spro Power Swivel and a 5-foot section of 15-lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon and a Gamakatsu 1/0 octopus hook. Pick up a set of Water Bugz Planer Boards and some live herring, and you are good to go for the day. If you prefer to use artificials, be sure to pick up some Sebile Magic Swimmer swimbaits in white linear and ayu in several sizes. The most popular sizes being the 95 and 125. Be sure to throw the smaller 95 size on 10-lb. Trilene Big Game or Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon on a 7-foot medium-action Penn combo. Personally, I like the Penn Conflict 3000 spooled with 10-lb. Trilene Big Game on a Fenwick 7-foot medium spinning rod. Pick up a selection of other topwater wake baits like the Berkley Surge Shad and walking baits like the Berkley Cane Walker, and you are good to go. One day the Surge Shad will be best, and another day the Cane Walker will be best. Another good choice is a Capt. Mack 1/2-oz. bucktail tipped with a Berkley Jerk Shad casting to the bank. April is a great month for casting here on Lanier. Time to be on the water!”

Capt. Ron Mullins reports, “The spring striper bite is really getting fired up. Captain Mack’s Perfect Planer Boards and flatlines will be the technique that will catch the most fish in April. We are a couple of weeks behind last year and are seeing a very good prespawn, open-water bite that will continue into April with the recent rains and cold weather. Herring of any size and small to medium shad will be your best bait choices this month. Make sure you match your hook size to your bait size. Fish herring on a No. 1 or No. 2 Gamakatsu octopus circle, small shad on a 1/0 and medium gizzards on a 4/0 or 5/0 circle. Using a smaller hook will keep your herring and small shad lively longer since they won’t have to lug around a big chunk of steel. Place your bait 50 to 100 feet out, clip on your Perfect Planer and run your outside set of boards 70 feet from boat. Repeat the process with the inside set of boards, but only run the boards 35 feet away from the boat. Flatlines are next. Run these 75 to 125 feet behind the boat without any weight, and then the second set of flatlines 50 to 75 feet back with a 3/16-oz. worm weight inline above the swivel. These will ride below the first set and stay clear of the longer lines. There will be a lot of fish up both river arms as the mud clears toward the middle to end April, as well as northern creeks like Thompson, Taylor, Wahoo, Ada, Gainesville and Little River. At the first of the month there will still be fish roaming over deep water in the middle of most creeks and mid-lake river channels, but as the water temps warm into the mid 60s, the fish will move to the 15- to 30-foot deep points and humps throughout the lake. This will be the start of our topwater artificial bite and time to tie on a Zara Spook, Chug Bug, Gunfish or Captain Mack’s Mini Mack. As you ease around these areas with your live bait spread out the back of the boat, you can make long casts from the front of the boat to these spots and pick up a few extra fish. Get out there and catch ’em up. Remember that Easter is about our Living Savior that could not be held by the grave, not bunnies.”

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